Our trustees

George Burn (Co-Chair)

I lost my brother, Billy, in 2015, when he died aged 44 after losing a battle with an aggressive form of cancer. He and I were always close, and seeing him die early in life, and seeing the impact on my mother, my sister-in-law, my nieces and the broader family, has been both incredibly sad and incredibly important as a defining life experience. The support of various organisations, including TCF, has played a crucial role in helping us deal with our grief and come to terms with Billy’s absence. I would love to contribute to one of those organisations, in order to help others who have to go through the horrible experience of seeing a loved child or sibling die.

As a lawyer with 25 years of experience, I have substantial technical legal ability that could be of use to TCF. I also have experience of working as a governor of two schools, one as chair of the governing body, and have experience of volunteering in roles for other organisations, I have knowledge that I think could also be of use to TCF.

The mission of TCF is to support bereaved parents and other close relatives; having seen the value of support organisations for those dealing with the pain occasioned by grief, that is a mission to which I would very much like to contribute. Trustee is a position of responsibility, with significant moral and legal obligations; I believe I have skills and experience that would enable me to meet that responsibility and in doing so help TCF and those that it supports.

Melian Mansfield (Co-Chair)

My daughter Anna died on May 1st 2015. She was married and had two young children aged three and six. She had suffered long periods of depression and became psychotic before she died. Her sudden and totally unexpected death has devastated all the family including her three brothers and sister. Anna had numerous friends and was so loved by everyone; it has been impossible for us to understand why she took her life.

I have had a long career in Education, teaching, and then training governors for local authorities across London. I have experience as a trustee of a number of charities and organisations as well as being a governor of three primary schools and chair of a Nursery School Governing Body. I chair the Campaign for State Education, the National Early Childhood Forum and London Play which campaigns for and provides play opportunities for London’s children.

Being involved with Compassionate Friends has been a life saver and enabled me to find friends and solace with others who have experienced such incredible loss. I am honoured to have been elected as a trustee of such an amazing organisation which daily provides support of all kinds to so many people and families.

Adelle Brenner

We lost our beloved daughter Celia in 2011. She was three years old and died in an accident in Singapore where we were living. I found TCF after a desperate post for help on Mumsnet and got in touch with a local contact. Meeting her and hearing about her life five years on from the death of her daughter gave me the hope I needed to survive those dreadful early days and I will be forever grateful for that gift.

It is a privilege to witness the same transformative effect that TCF can have for so many other courageous bereaved parents who I have meet facilitating the Bath TCF group since 2017 and as a volunteer on TCF retreats. As was wisely spoken on a recent retreat, “I prefer the company of bereaved parents, their hearts are larger.”

The loss of a child and discovery of TCF has given my life new meaning and I am passionate about ensuring that as many bereaved parents as possible are able to access the help that made such a huge difference to me.

I gave up my career in marketing for Unilever and Dyson after the losing Celia and I am now a stay at home mum to my three surviving school age children. I hope to be able to put my experience in business and communications to use for TCF as the charity moves forward, supporting more people, in more ways, at all stages of their grief. I hope that my experience as a volunteer and as a fundraiser can also contribute to the continued aims of this marvellous charity.

Alison Cramp

Gill Hardy

I became a member of TCF in 2015 after the death of our son Tom. He was 22 and his death was accidental, unexpected and unbearable.

We were introduced to TCF and although we found our first meeting very difficult, we felt a mutual understanding. The support and we have gained from TCF has been invaluable and I believe that, without TCF, we would be in a much darker place now. It gave us hope when we had none.

Our experiences have led me to realise that there is a significant lack of relevant bereavement support from health care professionals for bereaved families and it seems to us that TCF provides this. I would like to put something back into the organisation that has helped us and hope that my skills and experience might be of some value.

I have worked at Director level in the pharmaceutical industry for many years and have run my own successful medical communications business for 13 years where I specialise in strategic direction, communications and event management. This requires the ability to strike early rapport, foster relationships and reach a mutual understanding with people. Running a small business also means that I get involved in a wide range of tasks from delivering board room presentations to laying out meeting room materials and I pride myself on “getting stuck in” to do whatever is necessary to get a job done.

Sefton Kwasnik

I qualified in 1981, and now, with over 40 years in the legal industry I have acquired a wealth of experience. I have offered legal help and advice for TCF parents and families since 2007. During that time, I have represented many families at complex Inquests throughout England and Wales, ranging from where death has occurred following a chase by the police, and where a detained patient under the Mental Health Act died in a fire, to including Road Traffic Collisions which have involved Multi Agency Rescues which were closely scrutinised at Inquest. I have gained significant experience in dealing with Article 2 Inquests and representing Families where there are numerous legally represented agencies.

In October 2017, I lost my only sibling Deborah after a lengthy battle with cancer. After standing beside her during that journey, and on the back of my association with TCF, I feel that I coped as well as I could with my grief.

I am a passionate believer in the aims of TCF and am honoured to be a Trustee so that I can lend my experience and expertise to the growth and governance of this amazing organisation and its members.

Sheila Phillips

On the evening of 25 April 2013, my beloved son, Duncan Andrew Phillips came home from work as usual, had tea with his wife and two small sons, and left the house to join friends for a game of football. He did not return. Unbeknown to both himself and us, his family, Duncan’s heart muscle was diseased; he had inherited (apparently) a condition known as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. His heart muscle had hardened and the cells of the muscle were disorganised. The exertion of sport was too much for it to cope with that evening and Duncan’s heart simply stopped beating.

The subsequent horror and despair at Duncan’s sudden death was, and remains, indescribable. I do not remember how I coped with day to day living for the first year, except to say that neighbours, friends and colleagues at work were tremendously supportive in the way that they approached us (my husband, myself and our daughter), invited us to meals and allowed us to cry.

In the Spring of 2015, Derek (my husband) and I attended a musical event at Wotton House in Buckinghamshire. There we met Dr Margaret Brearley who immediately gathered us in and tended our broken hearts with TCF understanding and sympathy. The relationship between TCF, Derek and I has been and continues to be one of emotional support, many willing and sympathetic listening ears, tenderness and compassion.

My working knowledge of accounting for charities, statutory reporting and awareness of what it means to be a charity trustee has been gained over more than 20 years. I welcome the opportunity of using these skills and experience in the furtherance of TCF aims and objectives which I heartily believe are so valuable in sharing the pain of and easing the burden for bereaved parents.

Warren Weiss (Company Secretary)

I became aware of TCF after the death of my daughter, Emily, in 2011. My family has benefited from the charity very much, and I am glad of the opportunity to put something back in.

I have been an accountant for 26 years in a small, high-street practice, where I advise individuals from small and medium-sized businesses on accounting and tax compliance. I also play in a semi-professional 6-piece party band which performs in pubs and at parties. It is less lucrative than accountancy, but marginally more enjoyable. At various times, I have been the treasurer for three nursery schools and the Barnet Citizens Advice Bureau, I have served on the Board of Muswell Hill Synagogue, and I currently volunteer as a magistrate. I hope that my experience will equip me to be a useful board member of TCF.

Tony Bruno

I am passionate about supporting bereaved families, having experienced the death of my son 7 years ago. I attended Gloucestershire TCF meetings and found great comfort and hope through those meetings and, engaging with (mainly) parents who had suffered similar experiences. I have stayed close to TCF and at one point did enquire about the possibility of establishing a TCF group in Hong Kong, where I lived at the time.

I founded a charitable organisation in Hong Kong dedicated to youth mental health and suicide prevention, and have had over five years’ experience as a board director of a separate charity that supports young people with mental health challenges. I have held roles as treasurer, member of remuneration committee, and head of fundraising. I founded an annual event that has engaged thousands of people directly and through social media, and generated £700,000 in non-restricted funding.

I have developed a deep understanding of the importance of compassionate, community-based support for bereaved families and have acted informally to help people who have had similar experiences to my own. I found great comfort and help from TCF during my journey, and wish to contribute my skills and experience back to TCF. In particular I am keen to leverage my skills to help strengthen TCFs fundraising, digital communication and governance. I have experience developing and implementing growth strategies in businesses and charities and I am particularly interested in helping TCF develop growth plans. Outside of my charitable work, I have had a long, successful career as an executive in business services outsourcing, recently acting as executive vice-president for a worldwide business providing services to tech and online companies.

Jackie Hewitt

In 2017 I lost my eldest son, Guy, to an accidental overdose, and I stepped overnight into the world of a being a bereaved parent. Although there had been painful times of “anticipated loss” over the years, as Guy experienced many mental health difficulties and substance difficulties, the finality of his loss was still a terrible shock. I found TCF to be gentle and supportive and a local group extended huge compassion and support to both me and my mother (which lifted a weight for me).

My first retreat was an intense experience but vital to me safely connecting and beginning to explore the depths of child loss. I have volunteered at several retreats and help co-facilitate the online group for parents bereaved through alcohol and substance use. My personal and professional values are strongly aligned with TCF. I am honoured to be able to “give back” through being a trustee and to help others as they enter this shared world of child and sibling loss.

I have worked in the charity sector, specifically children’s mental health, for 14 years and have progressed from being a school-based counsellor to taking on larger and broader roles of strategic and operational leadership. I currently hold a Deputy Regional Director position in a medium-size (450+ employees) national charity and have taken an active part in a significant management restructure and transformation process which has seen the charity face financial challenges and build a more sustainable future, with a client-focus always at the centre. I have experience of building strong stakeholder relationships and am familiar with reporting to commissioners and donors on service impact and outcomes.

Karen Chandler

I’m Karen and - unbelievably really - my son Gianni died 10 1/2 years ago, aged 23. Obviously, like you all, my life has been shattered into 1000 pieces; but these days I find joy, laughter and fulfilment as well as brokenness and pain. Extraordinary, really. I never would have believed it possible.

One of the unexpected aspects of my bereavement is that I have trained as a civil funeral celebrant- and enjoy (yes, that’s the right word) working with the bereaved and walking alongside them. As well as this, I ran a small charity for 13 years and am currently a Director of a CIC - so I am steeped in the Third Sector.

The Compassionate Friends were a lifeline to me in the earlier days- and I would love to “repay” their compassion, humanity and understanding.